I found the reading for “The Age of Show Business” by Postman very intriguing. In particular, one argument he made that I agree with is that a “news show, to put it plainly, is a format for entertainment, not for education, reflection or catharsis” (p. 87-88). After having two summer internships at CBS National News and Time Warner New York City local news, I agree with Postman’s argument because newscasts every night report on crimes, deaths and problems that have little relevance to those watching. After being involved in the “news world” for two years I have learned of the popular saying, “if it bleeds…it leads.” There have been many articles in circulation putting down news broadcasts for their content. Here is one I found very interesting: http://www.fair.org/media-beat/951213.html This article relates to Postman’s views and lists several newscast statistics that you may be very surprised about.
Almost all news programs live by this statement as a way of catching the viewers at the beginning of the newscast to suck them in and keep them for the remainder of the half hour, immersing them in flashy graphics, exciting music and most importantly – lengthy commercial breaks. For those who are not familiar with the television business, commercials that are shown are from the sponsors of each individual show. Television shows cannot function without sponsorship thus all shows on broadcast television depend on commercials to keep their shows on the air. Ultimately, I do not understand why the American public is so fascinated by death and violence. However, I do know that the news producers are very smart and know how to keep your attention focused at all times.
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I strongly agree with your sentiment about the lack of weight that is carried on today's news programs. There is no doubt in my mind that news today is primarily for entertainment purposes. As you stated the more commercials that are sold for the program the more money the network can pull in, and clearly commercial sponsors are drawn to programs with higher ratings. Due to this fact we find news programs not looking to be the most informative, but rather the most entertaining, which leaves a sort of void for knowledge in American society. People often criticize "fake" news shows like the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, but the fact of the matter may be that these are the most honest news shows we have because they are willing to look critically at the corrupted news programs that we are supposed to accept as what news should be.
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